Aerial target coupling



AERIAL TARGET COUPLING Filed NOV. 21., 1968 INVENTOR THOA F SHREE'VEATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,490,799 AERIAL TARGET COUPLING ThomasF. Shreeve, Burtonsville, Md., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to the United States of America as represented by theSecretary of the Navy Filed Nov. 21, 1968, Ser. No. 777,787 Int. Cl.F16c 11/04; F161 27/02 U.S. Cl. 287-91 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A cable coupling having a main barrel containing aball-bearing assembly to which a cable is attached extending out of oneend of a barrel for rotation upon its longitudinal axis relative to thebarrel. The barrel contains an aerial target attaching assemblyextending from its other end. A cap member is provided over the barrelto optionally adapt the coupling for use with different types of targetlaunchers.

STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may bemanufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States ofAmerica for governmental purposes without the pay ment of any royaltiesthereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This inventionrelates to cable couplings and, more particularly, to cable couplingsfor use in towing aerial targets which couplings can be adapted for usewith different types of target launchers.

Description of the prior art Presently both the Navy and the Air Forceuse targets which are towed behind an airplane for shooting practice.The target is towed at the end of a cable and is attached to the cableby a swivel connection so that the cable is free to untwist as it ispayed out from a reel without imposing a twist load on the target. Inuse the target is normally stowed under the wing of the towing airplaneby a connecting mechanism which can be released from the inside of theairplane at the proper time to release the target for towing. The Navytarget launcher (LAU-37/ A) an dthe Air Force target launcher (RMU-8/A)differ in the means used to connect the target under the wing of theairplane. The Navys launcher has a latch mechanism which latches onto aco-operating portion of the swivel in order to releasably retain thetarget under the wing. The Air Force launcher has releasablecaliper-like arms which extend around the target to retain it inposition. The swivel used wtih the Navy launcher, since it must have aportion to co-operate with the retaining latch, is substantially longerthan the swivel used with the Air Force launcher. Although the swivelplays no part in retaining the target under the wing of the airplane inthe Air Force Launcher, the longer Navy swivel cannot be used in the AirForce launcher because its extra length would interfere with theequipment (the extra length of the Navys swivel would cover the passagefrom which the tow cable emerges from the airplane). With prior artswivels the Government has had to obtain, at a substantial expense,different types of swivels for each different type of target launcher.

In addition, prior art swivels are made up of many parts. Any reductionin the number of parts is obviously advantageous from the standpoint ofreliability and expense. In prior art swivels, an expanding retainingring is used to retain the ball-bearing assembly in place. Appli-3,490,799 Patented Jan. 20, 1970 ice cant eliminates this retaining ringby modifying existing structure to perform its function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of thepresent invention is the provision of a swivel connector for use intowing aerial targets.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a swivelhaving a reduced number of parts over which can be adapted for use withdifferent types of target launchers.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a swivelhaving a reduced number of parts over prior art swivels.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The single figure is a side view of theswivel connector having a portion thereof cut away.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawing,there is shown a swivel connector, designated generally by the referencenumeral 5, which includes a main barrel portion 6. Inside the mainbarrel portion is a ball-bearing assembly 8 which abuts against ashoulder portion 9 at the forward end of barrel member 6. A plug member10 fits against the rear side of ball-bearing assembly 8 and prevents acable fitting 11 from being pulled through the center of theball-bearing assembly by the tension in a cable 12 to the end of whichit is swaged. An alternate construction would be to eliminate plugmember 10 and enlarge the head of cable fitting 11 so that it would notfit through the center of ball-bearing assembly 8. A coupling rod 13extends from the rear of main barrel 6 and is held in position by a pin15 which is retained in place by O-ring 16. The forward end 14 ofcoupling rod 13 extends into the main barrel an amount sufficient toprevent ball-bearing assembly 8 from falling out of position. Thus,forward end 14 of coupling rod 13 takes the place of the prior artretaining rings. The target is attached to coupling rod 13 between apair of arms 19 and 20 by a pin 18. Pin 18 is held in place byconventional means such as a cotter pin 21. In order to adapt the swivelassembly for use with the Navy type target launcher, a cap member 22 isprovided at the forward end of the main barrel 6. The cap member isthreaded over the main barrel at 24 and is fixed firmly in place by aset screw 25. A passage 26 is provided in the forward end of cap 22 forcable 12. The forward end of cap 22 is shaped to co-operate with thelatch mechanism on the Navy type target launcher. The releasable latchmember, not shown, fits into an annular depression 28 of generallyV-shaped cross-section.

The swivel assemblies will be manufactured for the Government includingcap member 22. They will be delivered to the various places at whichthey will be used as a unit, and depending upon the type of targetlauncher in use, cap member 22 will either be used on the main barrelmember or discarded. In order to secure the swivel assembly with orwithout cap member 22 on cable 12, O-ring 16 and pin 15 are firstremoved and connecting rod 13 it withdrawn from main barrel member 6.Ballbearing assembly 8, plug member 10, and cable fitting 11 are allloosely placed within the main barrel member for shipping and they arenow taken out. The cable is inserted in the front end of the swivel(first through passage 26 if the cap is being used) and pushed through.Ballbearing assembly and plug are placed on cable 12 and cable fitting11 is then swaged onto the end of the cable. The plug is inserted intoball-bearing member 8 and the whole assembly is pushed into the mainbarrel member until the ball-bearing assembly abuts shoulder 9. Conplingrod 13 is then reinserted into the main barrel 6 and fastened in placewith pin 15 and O-ring 16. The swivel connection is then ready forconnection to an aerial target.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention arepossible in the light of the above teachings. For example, cable fitting11 could be attached to cable 12 by any known means and is not limitedto a swaged connection. Similarly, the target could be attached tocoupling rod 13 through any conventional means and is not limited to pin18 and arms 19 and 20.

What is claimed is:

1. A swivel connector for attaching a target to a tow cable, said cablebeing supported for swivelling movement in said swivel connector andextending through a cable aperture in one end of said swivel connector,said swivel connector having means at its other end for attaching saidswivel connector to a target and being adapted for use with a firstknown type of target launching apparatus, means for adapting said swivelconnector for use with a second known type of target launching apparatuscomprising:

a detachable housing portion having a cable aperture therethrough;

means at one end of said housing and at said one end of the swivelconnector detachably securing said detachable housing to said one end ofthe swivel connector so that the cable aperture in said one end of theswivel connector is aligned with the cable aperture in said detachablehousing, said cable extending through the cable aperture in saidhousing; and

means on the periphery of said housing for interlocking engagement witha latching mechanism of a second known type of target launchingapparatus for releasably latching said connector to said second type oflaunching apparatus.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the cable aperture in said housingportion terminates in an enlarged chamber for receiving said one end ofthe swivel connector therein.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said interlocking engagement meanscomprises a depression in said housing portion.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said housing is symmetrical about alongitudinal axis, and said depression is annular and of generallyV-shaped cross-section.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein said securing means comprises threadson said housing and said connector, and wherein a set screw is providedto fix the housing portion in a threaded position on said swivelconnector.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,773,045 8/1930 Kooms 2879l XR2,487,085 11/1949 Wridge 28791 2,811,378 10/1957 Kalista 28791 3,175,2653/1965 Gunderson 24l23 XR 3,249,376 5/1966 Lanum 2879l 3,250,563 5/1966Walsh 294-82 XR DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner ANDREW V.KUNDRAT, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

